Status check!

I have a 1^st grader and a 3^rd grader and let me tell you; it is work! Gone are the days of building gingerbread houses and CAT tests. Now, elementary school students have real homework and real projects.  Sometimes, I find myself questioning my intelligence based on what they are doing. Well, at a certain point every semester or year, the teacher sends home something vital…the progress report. You were probably expecting me to say the report card, right?  Both are used for evaluating how a student has performed, but the Lord showed me something about the power of a progress report today.  You see, the report card shows the student's final grade in a class, but the progress report allows the teacher to track how a student is doing throughout the class. The Lord gave me a question to ask you; and it is simple. How are you doing on your assignment?   

Every progress report gives you some rubric or scale so that you know how you are doing and whether you need to improve or continue the same trend. Well, the Lord sent me to 1 Peter 4:10-11 so that you can check your progress. It says, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”(NLT) How do you line up with that scale? Are you on track to pass the test or have you missed some study sessions? Have you been using your gifts or has fear, doubt, or people, kept you silent? Have you been giving your assignment your full strength and energy or have you been half-heartedly doing it in hopes that someone else would pick up the slack? How would your progress report look? How would the Lord grade your effort?

It’s time to refocus, folks. It’s time to hunker down and make sure the assignments and ideas that God has given you are being completed. Paul reminded the church at Philippi that nothing less than full commitment would do if they wanted to reach their goal. What about you? “So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.” (Philippians 3:15-16, MSG) Woman of God, is God’s being pleased with your obedience enough to push you forward? Man of God, is being in line with God's plan and purpose for your life all that it takes to answer the call? I would hope so!  However, for some reason, the Lord felt that His people needed to be reminded to stay on track. You see, He wants you to get to the finish line. He has seen the end of your journey, and He is ready to celebrate with you.  He is paying attention to your progress. He wants to see your trustworthiness and your obedience, and so He can honor it with elevation and promotion. Check your progress report, saints! It will pay off on your final grade!

Amen

Check your story!

I was in an interview this morning and the woman that I was speaking with said, “Behavior tells a story.” The statement made an immediate impact on me so I wrote it down. As I got up from prayer for Rhema, my eyes kept landing on my note. I began to hear questions in my mind. What is your behavior saying to God? What story is your behavior telling the people at your job, at your church, etc.? What happened in the course of your story that has contributed to your behavior? What are you not dealing with? They just kept coming. How is your behavior affecting your children’s story? Is your behavior writing a positive story that draws people to you and Christ? Is it running people away and negatively reflecting who God is? So many things from this one little statement. The Lord led me to this thought. Is it time for an edit?

 I’ve written quite a few things in my life and I often help people with proofreading and editing their work. My eyes are immediately drawn to grammatical errors and I absolutely lose my mind if I have sent a text and notice a typo after hitting send. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines editing as to prepare (something written) to be published or used: to make changes, correct mistakes; to prepare (a film, recording, photo, etc.) to be seen or heard: to change, move, or remove parts. Sometimes you can be so caught up in living your life your way that you don’t take the time to see what needs to be corrected. You may be comfortable or surrounded by people that constantly boost you and miss the moments where you need to do a self-examination. I have found that a good edit can change the whole piece that I am working on. Do you need to go back and correct any mistakes? Have you not acknowledged your wrongs and made them right? Have you left some people or some habits in your life that need to be removed? Is it time for an edit?

Proverbs 18:15 in the Message Translation says, “Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights.” You see, when you are paying attention to what the Lord is saying to you or showing you, you will accept correction and use it for your benefit. People that refuse to have their work edited, because they are so in love with what they wrote, always miss an opportunity for an even better piece. So many Christians’ behavior is telling a story that is hurtful to them and the Kingdom. It is a story that speaks hurt and unforgiveness. It is a story that has bitterness threaded through the scenes and a past that has not been dealt with. I believe the Lord is calling His people to self-examination more than ever before. “It’s judgement time for God’s own family. We’re first in line. If it starts with us, think what it’s going to be like for those who refuse God’s Message!” (1 Peter 4:17 MSG) If you want your story to be one that draws people to Christ, check your behavior. Check your choices and your crew. Check your fruit. Make sure that you are not allowing pride, fear, or comfort keep you from a life that is pleasing to God. Is it time for an edit?

The best kind of editor believes in your story and wants to see you have the best piece possible. They make the necessary cuts, condense the right places, and modify what needs to be fixed to bring about a smooth and readable work. God is the best kind of editor! He stays with you through the process and highlights the areas that need to be worked on. The key is being open to the correction and understanding that it is for your good. Remember, “no discipline is enjoyable while it is happening – it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” (Heb. 12:11 NLT)  May your edits result in a story that reflects who you serve!

Amen…

Stop playing games!

Every week, I sit down to write Rhema and I wait for these flowery and uplifting messages to appear. I mean, I wait! However, every week, I am given something that may encourage but usually doesn’t contain a lot of sunshine and roses. I have often asked the Lord why this is the case. Why can’t I be the one that causes people to break out into songs of joy and not deliverance? There is usually silence at the other end but today, the Lord told me that it was necessary. He told me that easy is not always helpful and fun doesn’t equal change. He said it’s time to stop playing games with your life.

 Let me tell you something that many don’t want to acknowledge. The enemy is waging real war on the saints of God and he is using what feels good to take people down. It’s why people don’t like rebuke and correction. It’s why a lot of young people run from the church and avoid rules. The world has made people think that comfort and good feelings is the best thing. Well, I am here to tell you not to fall for the trick. I can imagine that when Adam and Eve decided to take a bite of that forbidden fruit, it tasted good for a moment. I mean, it was the Garden of Eden after all! The Bible says, “the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her.” (Gen. 3:6, NLT) But what happened after the “feel good” moment passed? Well, the next verse says, “At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.” (Gen. 3:7, NLT) They went from living in that blessed place of obedience to the often-heartbreaking place of exposure. They moved from being one with God and walking in dominion to shame and hiding. All of this because the enemy convinced them that they would feel better if they did what looked good. It was a trick. It’s time to stop playing games with your life.

You remember Samson, right? The one who was purposed before conception to begin delivering the Israelites from the Philistines. He was set apart for God’s use and special to Him. The enemy tried repeatedly to take this man out with cunning and violence but the thing that ultimately got him was the desires of his flesh. You see, the enemy had no idea what Samson’s strength was but he appealed to what looked good to him. He sent Delilah and she went to work. It almost seemed that Samson was smart enough to avoid the plot because he didn’t fall for the many attempts that were made. But he grows tired of Delilah asking for his secret and tells her exactly what is necessary to steal his strength. “She helped Samson fall asleep in her lap and called in a man to shave off the seven locks of Samson’s hair. Immediately his strength left him.” (Judges 16:19, VOICE) I am sure it felt great to fall asleep in the arms of the one he loved but in a matter of moments, his strength was gone. All because the enemy gave him what looked and felt good to his flesh. It was a trick. It is time to stop playing games with your life.

What does this have to do with me, Ebony? Well, it’s actually pretty simple. Too many of you are being tricked into doing what feels good rather than what will grow you. You are missing out on good relationships and prosperous business opportunities because the person doesn’t look like the world’s definition of beauty or the job is not glamorous.  It is time for the people of God to grow up and operate in obedience and not comfort. It is time to ask God what you need to correct and not what will be easy. It is time to ask God what He wants for you and not what you want for you. It’s time to stop looking for the next best thing and focus on the next right thing. It is time to stop playing games with your life. May you hear God speaking to your spirit and ignore what the enemy is speaking to your flesh.

Amen.

  

Who do you look like?

It’s late and you’re probably wondering again why Rhema is so late! Well, let me tell you the truth! I tried to spiritualize it and say that perhaps it’s a sign of what’s to come. You know…the end. I’m tired and maybe I just don’t have anything left to say. But the Lord stopped me mid sentence and said “tell the truth!” He proceeded to show me how I have prioritized everything before writing and made Rhema a chore rather than the assignment that it is. Hurt my feelings, y’all! But the Lord loves me enough to not want me to live a lie. What I was doing was trying give myself an easy out by making my excuses sound better than the truth. Whew! That will preach, right?! But seriously, what the Lord was trying to remind me of the value of truth in the church. Too many of you have forsaken truth for acceptance and correction for feeling good. But today, the Lord simply said truth = freedom.

So I’m not going to give you a sermon about telling the truth. That would take all day! But what the Lord asked me to briefly share is the importance of walking in your truth. There are so many Christians lying to themselves and other people daily. You know, pretending to be happy but really harboring hatred from 5 years ago. Declaring victory but actually living in bondage. Speaking in tongues but their relationships are in shambles. There are too many people that left self examination and honesty behind in exchange for a good social media presence. But the Lord wanted to remind you that He knows the truth. As a matter of fact, He is the truth! So please mam, please sir, stop making Him out to be otherwise.

Jesus then took me back to one of His most powerful and repeated statements in the Bible. John 8:31-32 says, ““Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.””(‬MSG‬‬) Notice two things here. One, Jesus is speaking to church folk…people that should already know the benefits of truth. He is calling them out even as He teaches them and reminding them what happens when you obey and listen. Second, truth is not just an easy word that you can pull out when it seems convenient. Nope, it is a noun with power! It will set you free. You see at the beginning of this chapter, Jesus stopped a woman from being stoned to death by calling for the truth. At the end of the day, truth wins.

It is so vital that your reality is reflected in your ministry. People need to see and hear your authentic self. It is time out for lying when your truth could set someone free. In the middle of John 8, Jesus responded to the Pharisees with the summary to it all. He said, ““Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true.” (John 8:14-18) We are supposed to be like Christ and represent Him well. In order to do that, people should be able to depend on you the same way.

Amen